Interesting . . . but there's no way those amps were properly powering the Apogee drivers (unless maybe at low volume in a small room).

They weren’t, even biamping with NAT transmitters was under powering the Grands
 
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Yes, i have el 34 ( two)push pull in triode mode they sound close to 6c33 tube. The set amp a little more voluminous bass that all for ears.both 16 watt output power
Yeah funny how EL34s sound pretty rich in triode mode. That said, my Ayon Spark sounds a lot better than any Class A EL34 in triode that I have heard...
 
They weren’t, even biamping with NAT transmitters was under powering the Grands
Nonsense! The SE2SE sounded a lot better than the Transmitters anyway. Plus all the Grand active electronics, which were not being used when we did the CAT vs. NAT comparison, are quite detrimental to the overall sound of the Grand. It sounded best when used with a Diva passive crossover (rebuilt with premium parts) and an Audio Research active 2-way tube crossover to go between the sub and panel. Perhaps crude but far more effective than the actual Grand electronics.

Plus what you heard was with the original Krell amps on the tweeters and bass panel too I think...also a step down in SQ from the all tube driven panel.
 
In fact, considering the definition of class A the Siegfried II it is class A up to 90W - it is an high bias tube amplifier.

Class A / class AB is a poorly understood affair, as in practice it depends a lot on the impedance of the loudspeaker load.
Highly doubtful with only 600 watts dissipation at idle for reasons I just described...and I didn't even account for the small signal tube contribution and losses in the passive parts. Plus they say the amp goes up to 1500 watts dissipation at full power...a Class A amp would not change power draw over the full power range and this one obviously is sliding all the way up to full power.
 
I am certain that my MB-750s -- which I had for 18 years -- had more of an SET flavor than the Siegfried IIs.
A friend of mine had some MB-450s for a while and although they were pretty rich sounding at times, they didn't sound remotely like a SET. Pleasant enough though...
 
I am certain that my MB-750s -- which I had for 18 years -- had more of an SET flavor than the Siegfried IIs.

How do you define SET flavour? Maybe you are not looking for sets SETs but got MB 750?
 
If I get Jadis JA120s I will use EL34s.
If you must go push/pull then get something like the VAC Phi 70 used, if you can find them or the new Thrax 300B amp that is all 300Bs! To my ears, the best sounding Jadis I heard was their relatively affordable Defy 7 mkIII with siltech wiring...that made a nice sound!

A good hybrid, like a Sphinx Project 14 or 16 (true Class A) or the Conrad Johnson EVO2000 (sounded great on Duetta Signatures) would probably be preferable sonically to most PP tube amps.
 
Yeah funny how EL34s sound pretty rich in triode mode. That said, my Ayon Spark sounds a lot better than any Class A EL34 in triode that I have heard...
I can show you anytime, just come by. While you drink a coffee, I'll turn down the idle current of the EL 34 so that the K2 dominates. Then you'll see how similar the two amplifiers can sound. Unfortunately, I've told you what the difference in sound is, you'll immediately recognize it.20250123_161513.jpg
 
I can show you anytime, just come by. While you drink a coffee, I'll turn down the idle current of the EL 34 so that the K2 dominates. Then you'll see how similar the two amplifiers can sound. Unfortunately, I've told you what the difference in sound is, you'll immediately recognize it.View attachment 144216
WHich 6C33C amps are those?
 
Phase audio ,ukraine a bit modded that it looks good interior image

6c33-1.jpg
Whats written on it is programm20250123_175311.jpg
 
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If you must go push/pull then get something like the VAC Phi 70 used, if you can find them or the new Thrax 300B amp that is all 300Bs! To my ears, the best sounding Jadis I heard was their relatively affordable Defy 7 mkIII with siltech wiring...that made a nice sound!

A good hybrid, like a Sphinx Project 14 or 16 (true Class A) or the Conrad Johnson EVO2000 (sounded great on Duetta Signatures) would probably be preferable sonically to most PP tube amps.
Thank you, but I'm happy with Jadis.

I would like to try 845/211 x 4 PSET.
 
I have never seen or hear VTL describe the Siegfried II this way.

Not needed - they describe it as so in the specification sheet when they say - 600w idle consumption, push pull design.

Where do you think they are dissipating all this power? In the front LEDs?

Many tube amplifiers have a similar mode of operation. Do you know exactly what class AB means? The typical efficiency of a Class A push-pull tube amplifier is around 20-30%. Surely we do not get such value in the Siegfried output stage because of the higher voltage needed to achieve high power at class AB.
 
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NAT at least 70 watts...more than enough in a normal sized room...and not just for low volume. It worked and worked very well.
Okay! I did not know the NAT SE2SE mono is 70 watts!

Is NAT SE2SE mono PSET or push-pull? (Must be push-pull?)
 
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Highly doubtful with only 600 watts dissipation at idle for reasons I just described...and I didn't even account for the small signal tube contribution and losses in the passive parts.

No. for the reasons you described we could assume that class A power could even be higher.

Plus they say the amp goes up to 1500 watts dissipation at full power...a Class A amp would not change power draw over the full power range and this one obviously is sliding all the way up to full power.

Yes, this the class B zone - over 90 watts up to more than 500W when the amplifier is in clipping.
 
"Breath of life" and "liquidity" and transparency on vocals in the midrange.

Well, I disagree with you on the MB750 versus Siegried II. I also owned the VTL MB750 before owning the Siegfried II. Although I do not know what means "Breath of life" on vocals, in my opinion the Siegfried II wins in "liquidity" and transparency on vocals in the midrange by a significant margin over the MB750, that I liked a lot, but was less transparent than the Jadis JA80 that I owned in simultaneous,

Both amplifiers were fully reviewed by Stereophile, we can refer to reviews. I quote from the MB750 review:

"Low-bass extension and impact is another area where power is expected to pay major dividends, and with the MB-750s, it certainly did. What's more, the bottom end was the one area where I preferred the tetrode mode. From the midrange up I preferred the triode mode, tetrode being slightly harsher and edgier, and with both the soundstage and individual images more two-dimensional. " Fortunately this does not happen in the Siegfried II.

BTW, many times aspects we associate with power amplifiers are due to interaction between preamplfier and power amplifier. Changing the preamplifier can change our findings.
 
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Well, I disagree with you on the MB750 versus Siegried II. I also owned the VTL MB750 before owning the Siegfried II. Although I do not know what means "Breath of life" on vocals, in my opinion the Siegfried II wins in "liquidity" and transparency on vocals in the midrange by a significant margin over the MB750,
On transparency I agree the Siegfried II wins.
 

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